UAVs Made in Ukraine: The Ministry of Defence has started licensed production of FPV drones

UAVs Made in Ukraine: The Ministry of Defence has started licensed production of FPV drones

The Ministry of Defence started licensed production of modern FPV drones based on one of the state enterprises.

This was reported by the Ministry of Defence.

This became possible within the framework of a pilot project, which began in December last year under the overall leadership of the Main Directorate of Defence Innovations of the Ministry of Defence.

The project involves the production of codified FPV drones in accordance with a tripartite agreement, according to which a private developer granted a license to produce the drones at a state enterprise under the Ministry of Defence. All produced products will be transferred to the units of the Defense Forces of Ukraine.

After successfully establishing and scaling the production process, the state enterprise will be able to independently participate in the Defence Procurement Agency’s tenders and attract other potential customers.

The First Deputy Minister of Defence of Ukraine, Lieutenant General Ivan Havrylyuk, expressed a positive evaluation of the project:

“The experience is positive. Thanks to the state’s integration into production chains, we gained a clear understanding of the cost of drone production and our competitive advantages in this market. This will allow improving the quality of the final product due to sustained competition.”

Moreover, specialists from the Main Directorate of Defence Innovations of the Ministry of Defence have developed a roadmap for organizing similar production jointly with other UAV developers. This will significantly increase production capacities and accelerate the scaling up of drone systems production.

“We are ready to expand cooperation with private companies. We have a package of template documents and a step-by-step guide for launching similar production lines for UAVs at other state enterprises,” said the Head of the Main Directorate of Defense Innovations, Yuriy Taranyuk.

A million drones and army modernization

The decision to maximize state support for drone production was made in March 2023, when the government approved the corresponding resolution. Since then, the Ministry of Digital Transformation has been actively working on expanding production, maximizing support for drone manufacturers, and removing bureaucratic barriers for UAV creation. Recently, Minister Fedorov initiated the “People’s Drone” initiative, under which every citizen can assemble a drone at home at their own expense.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy expressed confidence at the end of 2023 that Ukraine would produce a million drones for the front in 2024, referring to FPV drones. Minister Fedorov assured in response that this target would even be exceeded.

In his last article in the Western press, just before his dismissal as Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, Valeriy Zaluzhnyi emphasized the need for a technological breakthrough in the army with a special focus on unmanned technologies. The Commander asserted that it would take only 5 months to reorient the army to unmanned systems.

After his dismissal, the Supreme Commander-in-Chief, Volodymyr Zelensky, instructed the government to explore the issue of creating a separate branch of the Armed Forces - the Forces of Unmanned Systems.